Entwined
by Krillin Fan
Summary: Lazuli had been the best thing to ever happen to Krillin. Friend, lover, confidant a rock of support and encouragement. Then, one day, he lost her forever. At least, until she came back. [K18, AU, Alternate Timeline, just a SMIDGE of Krillin x Bulma too but no Poly stuff]


**Entwined**

_Part of me had always wondered what might happen if Krillin had met "Lazuli" beforehand, and how that might affect his path in life. Would he be much different? Very different? More or less confident? And so, I decided to explore that with this story._

_So here we are, the prologue to yet another new work. lol  
Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

_**Prologue**_

"Keep it moving, shrimp!"

Krillin groaned under the weight of several heavy boxes strapped to his back as he and two other students of Orin marched through East City. When his upperclassmen had offered to bring him with them on their supply run for the Temple, he'd jumped at the opportunity; it had seemed, after years of teasing and bullying, that maybe some of them were starting to accept him! It didn't take long for him to learn his role as a pack mule.

And all the treatment that came with it.

The shorter monk gave him a swift kick to the rear and Krillin yelped. "Move it, you little runt! We're gonna be late!"

"All this stuff is heavy!" he protested. "I don't see you offering to help at all!"

The taller, slender monk stood over him and snorted. "Wow. We decide to be nice, bring you along for a change, let you actually be _useful_ for once in your life, and this is how you thank us? Ungrateful little bastard!" He gave Krillin a rough shove sending the boy and his boxes tumbling over onto the grimy pavement.

"Aww, now you've gone and made a mess of all our supplies, nut head." The shorter monk kicked him in the shin. "Clean it up!"

Krillin grunted. "Why should I? You're the one who shoved me, you jer-" a sharp slap across his face silenced him.

The taller monk laughed and cracked his knuckles. "Looks like the little imp wants to get uppity again. Guess I gotta teach you some manners!" He grabbed Krillin by the front of his uniform and hauled the boy off his feet. "Rule number one-" a sharp smack echoed in the empty street. "Don't talk back to your elders, brat!"

Krillin grit his teeth, tears welling in his eyes. This was nothing new, he knew that. They did this sort of thing to him regularly. But for some reason... here, now, in this moment... he felt an emotion he'd not felt in a long time.

Rage.

Tall monk balled his hand into a fist and raised it. "Rule number tw-" he stopped suddenly, eyes widening, and looked down at the foot that was still planted firmly in his gut. He dropped his prey, clutching at his stomach, howling.

His short companion was shocked for a moment but quickly composed himself. "Hey! You little goon!" He charged at Krillin.

Krillin braced himself, and, at the last possible second, sidestepped and stuck out a foot.

"I'm gonna jack you up for tha-AAA!" The Short Monk tripped and went flying, his trajectory aided by a well-placed elbow in the back. He hit the pavement hard and rolled next to his companion, both clutching at their respective injuries as they fought to regain the wind knocked from them.

The haze cleared from Krillin's mind, rage finally subsiding. His jaw dropped in shock at what he'd just done, and he felt just the smallest tinge of pride. The pride quickly gave way to dread, however, as both his attackers stood, finally catching their breaths, their eyes wide and full of malice. And so, Krillin did the only sensible thing he could.

He ran.

"GET BACK HERE, BASTARD!"

Krillin could hear the footsteps of the others catching up to his own. He cut through a nearby alleyway, eyes locking onto a fire escape. If he could get up there, climb that, he might have a chance.

He lowered his head and sprinted, leaping for the ladder, grasping the bottom rung. He struggled briefly to lift himself higher, managing to finally get footing, until he felt a giant hand clutching his foot. He felt himself be pulled, violently from the ladder, sailing through the air until his back thudded off the brick wall on the other side of the alley.

Dazed, Krillin looked up in fear at his two tormentors, as they cackled with glee and prepared to rain blows. Suddenly...

_BAM!_

The loud blast of a firecracker resounded off the alley walls, causing the two to jump, followed by two more in rapid succession.

"What the-GAH!" Tall Monk's head snapped forward. He could feel something wet and slimy slipping down the back of it. He reached back and ran a finger through it, and found a very familiar viscous substance. "Some punk threw an egg at me!"

Short Monk looked around scanning the area. "How? No one's even he-" another well-placed egg flew down from the fire escape, slamming into his face. "Dammit! Whoever you are, you're so dead!" He gasped and threw his arms up over his head as a torrent of eggs rained down, rapidly pelting the two.

Krillin also looked up to see two figures standing on the fire escape, slingshots in hand. They were kids, he realized. Probably not too much older than himself. One of them, a boy, had his black hair pulled back in a ponytail, with a dirty white shirt and jeans that seemed to be torn off at the knee on one leg. The other was a blonde girl in shorts and a long-sleeved black shirt, sharp eyes glistening as she lit two more of the firecrackers and tossed them down at her targets.

The monks jumped back as they exploded near their feet. The boy on the fire escape laughed. "Looks like someone's got egg on their faces." His companion audibly groaned.

"Ditch the shrimp, let's move!" The two ran and the boy jumped down, peeling off after them.

"Hey, baldies, we ain't done!"

Krillin blinked a few times, his body suddenly feeling very heavy as the adrenaline left his system. He stood, brushing off his uniform. "Oh man, whoever you are, thank you so much!"

The tough girl slid down the ladder and leaned back against the wall, eyeing him with a smirk, and Krillin couldn't help but feel a tightness in his chest and butterflies in his stomach. She pointed and gestured for him to come closer. He obliged, face turning red.

'She sure is pretty...'

"I'm impressed," the girl said, patting him on the head. "Not bad for a little guy." She cocked her head down the alleyway her brother had chased the other Orin students, his whooping and their frightened shouts echoing back to them. "Those punks there give you trouble a lot?"

"W-well yeah," he sheepishly admitted. "I mean I kinda live with them, so it's not like I get much of a break." He looked down at the alley floor. "And it's not like the monks at the temple really discourage it all that much."

She snapped her fingers in realization. "Ahh yeah, you guys must be from that temple up there on that hill. Nice place." She wrinkled her nose. "The people, not so much."

"Krillin raised his hands defensively. "Well, not everyone's so bad. I mean, the monk who agreed to let me stay was nice, I guess. Even if he did kinda say he shouldn't have because I don't have much skill. Or talent." He scuffed his shoe on the alleyway floor. "I mean, it's meant for students, not 'charity cases' and whatnot..."

The girl raised an eyebrow and stood up straight. "Hey now, I just saw you fight, kid. You got some pretty good skill. Wouldn't manage to get two 'proper students' twice your size on the ground without it, yeah?"

Krillin smiled, cheeks flushing a bit. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"How old are ya, anyways?" she asked.

"Uhm... 13?" he replied.

The girl let out a chuckle. "Ha! Looks like I got almost a full year on ya then. Already that good and you're barely a teenager though." She put a hand on her hip. "Gotta say, I _am_ impressed.

Krillin snorted. "Yeah. Wish the masters at the temple saw it that way."

She cupped his face to look up at hers, cool leather of her fingerless gloves feeling even more intense against his flushed cheeks. "The way I see it? If they won't believe in you and give you a shot, you oughtta find someone who does. Then come back and teach them losers at that temple a lesson or two of your own." She smiled and him, and he swore he felt his heart stop. "Who knows, might even wind up bein' a master in your own right, take over the school, start your own. Just don't let a buncha jerks push you around or live your life for ya."

"YO! SIS!" her brother called from down the alley. "Gotta scram, cops are comin', along with one very pissed off egg salesman!"

The girl rolled her eyes. "I don't even wanna know."

"No, but I'll probably tell you anyways. C'mon."

She turned back to face Krillin. "Well kiddo, I gotta scram-" she paused mid-sentence, peering down the street and alley as if to see if anyone was in view, before leaning down and placing a feather-soft kiss on his cheek. Krillin felt his face turn beet red and he froze, unable to move a muscle.

"I gotta go, but I figured I'd leave ya one of those. For luck." She shot him one last quick smile. "What's your name?"

"K-k-Krillin," he managed to sputter out.

"Well, I'll be sure to look you up sometime." She winked at him. "Gotta see how strong my future boyfriend is after all."

"B-b-BOYFRIEND?!" Krillin half-shouted, before getting a gloved hand firmly placed over his mouth.  
"Not so loud!" the girl half yelled in a hushed tone. "I got a reputation ta protect, you know." Her face softened and she smiled before turning and trotting down the alley.

Krillin stood there, stunned for a moment before hurriedly calling out after her. "But I-I'm a monk! I ca-"

"Nah, you'll leave," she laughed and called back. "I can tell. Then you're all mine."

Beet red, the boy called after her one last time. "Can I at least get a name?!"

"Name's -"

* * *

Krillin sat straight up in bed, shaken. He peered over at the clock and noted the time.

3:00 AM. May 7th.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and tried to shake off the fog of sleep. He knew he needed to rest. It was a long 5 days ahead. It was one of the most important days of his life. Yet, as he felt the cool ocean breeze drift in through the window, he also knew he didn't want to sleep again tonight.

Because every year, without fail these dreams would come. Every year, he would remember what he lost. He would remember this day not as the day they defeated the "son" of the evil King Piccolo, nor the day his best friend was crowned World Champion, nor even, he noted with a pang of guilt, as the day of his best friend's wedding.

To him, this would always be the day he lost _her. _And with that thought, he broke. Tears fell, unbidden, accompanied by heavy sobbing for what felt like an eternity.

When he could finally breathe evenly and regain his composure, he noticed the first tiny rays of sunlight dancing over the blue horizon. Mentally cursing himself, he lay back down to try to get at least a bit more rest before his regimen for the day started. He couldn't afford to miss a day, especially now.

Because in five days, the end of the world would begin.


End file.
